Huffpost Newsletters

Edition: US Like 7M Follow

Refereeing was his “greatest passion,” but the abuse has been too much.

05/11/2016 11:59 am ET

Sebastian Murdock Reporter, The Huffington Post

Spain’s first openly gay soccer referee has decided to quit after continuously enduring homophobic abuse from the sport’s fans.

Jesús Tomillero, 21, said being a referee has been his “greatest passion,” but that it’s not enough to continue hearing slurs shouted at him from the stands as he tries to do his job.

HuffPost Like 7M

Sports Like 65K

HUFFPOST NEWSLETTERS

Hace días me dijeron que la quitara , pero hoy la vuelvo a subir !! Puedo amar mi Get top stories and blog posts emailed to me each day. Newsletters may offer personalized content or homosexualidad con el arbitraje !! #StopHomofobia #rojadirectahomofobia advertisements. Learn More.

A photo posted by Jesús Tomillero Benavente (@jesustomillero) on Apr 18, 2016 at 8:21… [email protected] Subscribe!

In one incident, Tomillero said a soccer fan shouted “You can stick the goal up your arse, you fucking poof” after he gave a penalty during a game last Saturday, The 'Game Of Thrones' Star Art Parkinson Guardian reported. Even worse, Tomillero said the crowd of soccer supporters Shoots Down Shaggydog Theory erupted with laughter.

Tomillero first came out as openly gay to Spain’s El Espanyol in March of last year. But as the abuse gradually got worse, Tomillero said officials from the Andalusian Football Federation did little to help, according to VICE.

He has presented a formal complaint regarding Saturday’s abusive comments, but said he will be leaving the sport regardless. Apparently Orlando Bloom And Selena Also on HuffPost Gomez Can't Keep Their Hands To Themselves In Vegas

Riley Curry Upstages Steph During MVP Press Conference

More: Jesús Tomillero Soccer Soccer Referee Openly Gay Referee Spain Soccer

Suggest a correction Gene Simmons Apologizes For Calling Prince 'Pathetic' For 'Choosing' Death GET THE NEWSLETTER [email protected] Subscribe!

Sponsored Links by Taboola

I Can't Stop Downloading Free Ebooks From This Website BookBub

French Open 2016: Roger Federer Net 7 Tricks For How To Learn Any Language In 1 Week Worth vs. Maria Sharapova Net Worth Babbel and More

Find out why more than 14 million people can't stop playing this game Sparta Online Game

The Aussie dollar is plunging - here's what's happening in FX Businessinsider

Flying Business Class Has Never Been So Good All Kelly Ripa Wanted From Michael Fortune Skyteam - Germany3 Strahan And ABC Was A Little Respect

If You Hate Forgetting Things, This Article Brings Good News NeuroNation

9 Comments Sort by Top That Time Prince Made The Kardashians Disappear From 'New Girl'

Add a comment...

Claude Stebing Jesús Tomillero, come to Saint Petersburg, Florida and Help our Tampa Bay Rowdies .... we welcome all people in St Pete. Largest LGBT parade in Florida and one of the largest in USA...... I'm sure what you do, you will find happiness..... where ever you go.

Like · Reply · 4 · 2 hrs Search Warrant Executed For Prince's Medical Records, Identifies Doctor Who Jerry Roland · Scheduler at Fluent Language Solutions Treated Him Stay strong, man. You will find your niche and make a name, regardless of the mean-spiritedness of others.!

Like · Reply · 5 · 3 hrs

Jon Kallanan I'm surprised at this homophobia in the soccor world. After all, the players are gay. You would think the fans would be gay too.

Like · Reply · 3 · 3 hrs

George Blank · Memphis State University How long have you been playing? 'Antiques Roadshow' Mistakenly Values Like · Reply · 1 · 2 hrs 'Grotesque' High School Art At $50k

Permar Parker How do they know he is Gay? Is that listed on his bio? Or did he just OUT himself? Anyhoo.. I am not surprised, Soccer Fans are the worst...Worst then anything we have in America...Philadelphia Eagles, NY Jets fans have nothing on them...From Racial slurs being chanted by thousands, to the hooligan thugs rioting, causing mayhem and property damage, to the murder of a player (Shot 6 times and the murderer shouted Goal after every bullet) for scoring an "OWN GOAL.. The World's Sport has it all. Hopefully, it will never grow beyond cult status professional in our nation. We have enough problems with our own North American Sports. Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Her Like · Reply · 2 hrs Reluctance To Work With Woody Allen Jerodan Diogenes · Strayer University You're not familiar with the phrase "openly gay". It means he doesn't hide it and has admitted he is homosexual. You might want to brush up on the terms used in the story before you open your mouth again and look even more stupid. Like · Reply · 1 hr

Adam Stevens · Los Angeles, California It is astounding that more heterosexuals do not hold themselves to a higher moral standard than this.

Like · Reply · 4 · 3 hrs

Jerodan Diogenes · Strayer University Racism and now homophobia. Soccer, aka Football everywhere outside the US, seems to attract the worst sorts of people as fans. Like · Reply · 1 hr

John Beazley Very sad. Especially as young Spaniads shag around with anything that moves... Like · Reply · 3 hrs

Load 2 more comments

Facebook Comments Plugin

Advertise User Agreement Privacy Comment Policy About Us About Our Ads Contact Us FAQ

Part of HuffPost on HPMG News